Rodana, Queen of the Sky
by Neil Riebe
Summary: Rodan's mate is back! Will the world be overrun by a new generation of rodans?
1. Chapter 1

7

RODANA

**© Neil Riebe 1994**

Part 1

Hiroshi knew he should be job-hunting, but when everyone else in the apartment had gone to work, he staid home instead. The silence was so golden, like an elixir for stress. A loner by nature, he'd rather shut himself indoors than deal with people.

Then the phone rang.

"What the…? Who's calling me this early in the morning?" He slammed down his coffee pot, grabbed his buttered toast and mug and plopped down on his futon. He took a bite of toast and answered the phone with his mouth full to give a strong hint to the caller that he (or she) wasn't welcomed.

"Moshi-moshi!" he said, although his words sounded like "Muff-muff!"

"Hiroshi!" a familiar voice answered. "This is Sado. How are you doing, my good friend?"

Hiroshi quickly swallowed his toast and cleared his mouth with a swig of coffee. "Sado! Sorry, you caught me in the middle of breakfast."

"No problem. How are you?"

Hiroshi expressed his dissatisfaction with life with a sullen grunt.

"Yes, I heard you were laid off, which is why I called. I need a good pilot I can trust. The job is yours if you want it."

Sado built a career global trotting the world in search of prehistoric animals. He dredged Loch Ness for Nessie and tromped through African Congo for Mokele-mbembe. Hiroshi could only guess what Sado needed a pilot for. At least he knew the pay would be good. Sado was generous with his friends, perhaps too generous.

"Sure! When do you want me to start work?"

"When else? Now."

Hiroshi traveled to a remote island out in the Pacific via a floatplane. Sado met him at the pier and helped him out of the aircraft.

"Leave your luggage aboard the plane," Sado said. "I'll send someone to take them up to your quarters."

"When do we begin my orientation?"

"Right now. Follow me." Sado led Hiroshi up a trail through a grove of cherry trees to his research facilities.

"My empire," Sado spread his hands grandly to the newly constructed buildings. "Pretty nice, huh? What do you think?" Before Hiroshi could answer, his boisterous friend continued. "Now here's the run down. To the left are the apartments. To the right is air traffic control. The building situated in the mountainside contains our labs and offices. On the far side of the island are the big cargo docks. You can see them through the gap between the aircraft hangars."

"What sort of research are you doing?" Hiroshi asked.

"You know how much I love animals..."

Hiroshi stopped listening and started down the runway, picking up his pace. Animals didn't interest him as much as machines. What he saw parked on the tarmac lit up his eyes like a teenager getting a new sports car.

Sado followed behind him. "That's what you will be flying."

"The F-4 Phantom," Hiroshi muttered reverently as he ran his hand across the leading edge of the wing. "I flew one of these when I was in the air force. I was one of the last pilots to use them before they upgraded to F-15's." He looked at the open cockpit. "May I?"

"Go ahead."

Hiroshi climbed in. "It's like being home again. Say," he jutted his thumb toward the fuselage, "what's this thing painted all over the plane?"

"A pteranodon."

"Why did you paint a pteranodon on the plane?"

Sado grinned slyly. "Follow me, young one."

He guided Hiroshi through a tunnel bored into the mountain and stopped at a locked door.

"You like girls, Hiroshi?"

Strange question. "Sure."

Sado fished out his keys. "Wait until you meet the lady behind this door." The bolt snapped back. Sado swung open the door. A breeze whistled in through the open doorway.

Hiroshi stepped onto a concrete ledge and gazed in awe at the enormous cave spread out before him. The floor was a hundred feet down and the ceiling a hundred feet up. Daylight shining through the cave's mouth highlighted the gray tones of the rocks and cast deep shadows over the crevices.

What he was supposed to see Hiroshi was not sure. The cave's odor set his nerves on edge. It was the rank smell of a beast's lair. Nothing caught his attention except for an object glistening in the shadows from the far side of the cave, like the gleam in a person's eye.

Hiroshi gripped the railing, feeling drawn to look closer. The gleam disappeared and reappeared within the same span of time it would take to blink. Hiroshi's heart beat faster. If someone was staring back at him, this someone stood over a hundred feet tall.

Movement stirred about the gleam and a head, as big as a bus, thrust out into the light. Hiroshi yelped and jumped back from the railing. At first he thought it was a giant, slump-shouldered man wrapped in a heavy quilt, but when the monster stepped fully into view he saw that the nose was a beak and the quilt were wings wrapped around the creature's body. It was the same type of creature Sado had painted upon the F-4 Phantom—a gigantic pteranodon.

The monster let out an ear-piercing squawk.

Primeval fear screamed in Hiroshi's head.

"Yes," Sado steadied the young pilot, "beautiful isn't she? In 1956 two giant pteranodons were discovered in a coal mine in Kyushu. They were caught in a volcanic eruption, presumed dead. Then about nine years later one reappeared. We know him as Rodan. Now, nearly forty years later, his lady has been found. Hiroshi, I want you to meet Rodana."

"How do you know it is a she?"

"Look down there." Sado pointed toward a shallow pit.

"Eggs! Five of them!"

Rodana kept her wings wrapped around her body as though she were using them as blankets. Her posture spoke of a weary animal, yet when she stepped closer to the ledge the cave shuddered from her might.

She stared at Hiroshi as though she were studying him. Their eyes met. Hiroshi's flesh crawled. Rodana was not just looking at him. She was looking right through him.

"Sado, can those things read minds?"

"You can see it, too. She is a thinker. There is an American paleontologist who says that just because prehistoric reptiles had brains the size of a marble they were unintelligent, that they relied on sheer brute force. What does he know?" Sado scoffed. "He's just a curator of a museum in New York. He studies fossils. I have the real thing."

Sado completed the tour of the island and brought Hiroshi back to the jet. "Rodana was found in the cave like that. Hardly ever leaves. The government saw this as an ideal opportunity to study one of these reptiles up close." Sado leaned against the fuselage. "We've obtained skin and stool samples but we need blood and saliva to find out what's really ailing her. Rodana must've contracted an infection during pregnancy."

"Yes, but I don't understand what I am suppose to do."

"Simple work." Sado shrugged. "I need you to retrain her how to fly."

#

The next morning, Rodana perched at the mouth of her cave, surveying the island from the mountainside as a queen gazing down on her kingdom. In a sense Sado's research center was her kingdom and Sado's staff her subjects. Her care was their mission. They monitored her health, fed her, and washed the offal out of her cave.

Hiroshi strapped himself into the cockpit of the Phantom and warmed up the turbines.

"All you have to do, Hiroshi, is buzz by her," Sado instructed over the com. "Tilt the aircraft as you pass so she can see the pteranodon painted across the top of the plane. That might give her an incentive to try to fly."

"Will do. I'm ready for take off as soon as you give the word."

Rodana watched the F-4 fighter taxi down the runway and take to the air. Being a consummate flyer, she couldn't help being critical of the humans "mastery of the air," their slow and dainty take-offs and landings. The noisy machine rocketed by her perch. She frowned at the plane's paint scheme. They marked their machine to look like a member of her species. Obviously the humans must be envious of her flying abilities and wanted to be like her.

The plane soared over again. Her eyes widened. It was the new human! She recognized the subtleties in the plane's movements as his. She did not feel alone when he was with her. Rodana sensed in him that, like her, he had been denied the pleasure of flight.

Now he could fly. Was he flaunting it?

No. He wanted her to join him. The F-4 slowed in its next pass, as if it were waiting for her. Rodana straightened her posture and pulled up her wings. Then the pain returned. Her muscles ached. She drooped her wings and uttered a raspy sigh.

"That's it, Hiroshi," Sado said over the com. "Let's call it a day."

#

In the late evening hours, Sado and his account, Ichi Shinichi, pored over the project's budget.

"For what you're paying Hiroshi," Ichi suggested, "we could've hired a more experienced pilot. He hasn't flown a plane since he was in the air force."

"He's still a registered pilot." Sato sensed Ichi was testing him.

"Good for Hiroshi. We still could've gotten someone with more flying hours under his belt."

"We have an F-4 fighter in our inventory. Hiroshi served using the F-4. Hiring him made sense. What's your beef?"

"My beef is you requisitioned an F-4 to justify hiring Hiroshi. Now I understand why you pad Kumi's pay. Maybe if I were as pretty as she is, I can be the highest paid accountant in Japan as she is the highest paid secretary."

"Enough!" Sado slapped his desk. Both men knew Ichi hit a sore spot when he mentioned Kumi. It was no secret Sado enjoyed her company. "Get to the point."

"The point is," Ichi removed his glasses, "a government audit may conclude you're engaged in misuse of funds. Hiring friends, paying them wages beyond what they can expect in the private sector. This is not our money," he spread his hands over the expense sheets. "This is tax payer money."

Ichi smiled sweetly. The ball was now in Sado's court.

Sado ground his jaw. "All right. You want to pin nepotism on. Fine. Guilty as charged. Nepotism is the reason why you're employed right now. We haven't been friends per se, but I felt sorry for you because you took the brunt of office politics back in Tokyo. I thought, maybe if you worked in an environment with a small staff and a strong team spirit you'd flourish. Instead, you've become a real wrench in the works of the project."

"Yes, let's talk about 'THE project!'" Ichi put his glass back on. The light reflections on his lenses sharpened his piercing stare into needle points. "Do you think the Defense Agency is going to be pleased that our pampering is helping Rodana recover? The Self Defense Force wants her studied—with the intent in finding a weakness in monsters like her."

"We are not doing anything that is not on paper." In other words, they weren't breaking any written rules. Sado folded his arms. "Ichi, I thought you were someone I could trust."

"This is not about trust. It's about accountability. You put your staff in a position in which they must either hope no one finds out what's going on here so they don't get pegged as accomplices or take the initiative by filing a report."

Sado glared.

Ichi held his hands up as though he was just being a casual observer. "Now if you want to discuss an arrangement, perhaps a farer compensation for all staff members so at least our budget won't attract attention."

"Get out of my office!" Sado thrust his finger toward the door. "You have twenty-four hours to get your head screwed on straight. When I talk to you then and I'm still hearing what I'm hearing now, you're going to be dealt with. No one blackmails me!"

#

Couple days later, Sado's secretary, Kumi, was making small talk with Hiroshi on their break, trying to get to know the new pilot, when she thought she heard thunder. She looked out the window and cried, "Sado, come here quick!"

Hiroshi looked out the window with her.

The phones started ringing. Sado grabbed one. "Yes, yes! I see! Just relax!"

Ichi burst from his office screaming, "It's loose! It's loose!"

Outside, Rodana was trotting among the hangers. The airplane ground crews scrambled for cover.

Sado put his hand over the receiver. "Hiroshi, suit up!"

Hiroshi rushed out the door, caught up in the whirlwind of excitement.

"I got everything under control!" Sado shouted into the phone. "Just stay out of Rodana's way." He slammed down the receiver. "Come on, Kumi, to the tower!"

Hiroshi drove himself to the plane. Rodana pecked a hole in the hangar roof and peered inside like a bird searching for juicy grubs. She pulled her head out and stared at Hiroshi with a look of recognition.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," he muttered when he pulled up to the F-4 Phantom.

He was close enough for her to snap him up and swallow him if she wanted to.

Rodana squawked at him. She spoke in the same tone she used in the cave, a sort of acknowledgment of his presence.

Sado's voice cracked over the base's PA. "Hiroshi, get in the plane. She might be ready to fly now!"

Hiroshi was off. Rodana watched the fighter make a full circle. Her eyes fixed on the aircraft, she hopped thunderously alongside the runway picking up pace to the coast.

"Go, girl, go!" Sado wrapped his arm around Kumi. "This is it!"

Rodana stopped, holding her wings up. She dearly wanted to fly. The muscles felt unsure. Maybe soon now that her appetite was coming back. For now she resigned with watching the fighter circle the field.

After the flight, Hiroshi asked, "What exactly are we trying to accomplish?"

Sado spun around his chair and got up from his desk. He pulled out his pet iguana and rested it on his forearm. "There is a lot of unused land out there." He stepped over to the map of the world on the wall. "Take for example, Australia. Most of the population is on the Southeast coast. The entire outback would make prime habitat. So would the Russia steppes and the North America plains."

"For the rodans? You don't want them anywhere by people!"

Kumi split open a book for Hiroshi. "Take a look at this picture. Fossilized foot prints of a dinosaur. And alongside," she traced with her finger, "a man's."

"Both of those tracks are pretty fresh when they were fossilized," Sado said, "meaning they were not that far apart when they were making prints in the mud."

"But it... it just can't happen!"

"Why not?" Kumi challenged. "The natives of Infant Island coexist with a giant moth."

"This isn't the same thing!" Hiroshi said.

"I really don't think anyone can see the total significance of what's happening," Sado said in reflection. "After all this time, two pteranodons emerge out of extinction. Not just any two, but a fertile pair. Male. Female. Like Adam and Eve reintroduced. I don't know if that is suppose to prove there's a God, but whoever is pushing the buttons meant this to be.

"Plus! How's this for coincidence? The rodans are coming back, and here we are, mankind, poised to seize the moment.

"Man has been able to, with time, domesticate any animal he pleases, especially animals born in captivity. You see what I am getting at? Rodana's eggs. Besides, Kumi's right. If a handful of islanders can befriend a giant moth, we can do the same thing with reptiles.

"Right now we are standing on the threshold of a whole new destiny, and if we blow it then there better be a god. Because we will need a miracle to bail us out of this one!"

#

Back on the mainland, in Tokyo, the defense minister, a Mr. Mogutsu, tapped the bottom edges of Sado's report and set the papers down on the desk in a neat stack. "So, you believe Sado is omitting some of his activities from his reports, in addition to hiring under qualified personnel. Why don't you have a seat?"

Ichi Shinichi seated.

Mogutsu regarded the middling accountant. "Could you elaborate?"

"Oh, yes, sir." Ichi elaborated.

Mogutsu pinched the bridge of his nose in concentration. "Depending upon Sado's intentions this can pose a threat to the country's safety, even the world's."

"Indeed."

"But for all intent and purpose this is just gossip from a disgruntled employee, yes?" The corpulent defense minister smiled. He plopped his palms upon the report. "What we need is hard evidence and a clear cut accusation."

"Consider it done and done. So what do I get?" Ichi quickly switched his stance in his chair. "I mean..."

Mogutsu's jowls jiggled as he chuckled. "That's fine. I don't mind someone being blunt." The minister folded his hands and then resumed. "Japan's seat on the Security Council of the United Nations will be open soon. Exposing this scandal will be beautiful on my resume. And if I get the post I will need someone on my staff."

Ichi nodded. He understood perfectly.

#

"Rodana is looking good this morning, Sado," Kumi said. They were in the air traffic control tower.

"Yes, she is," Sado agreed. Into the mike he said, "OK, Hiroshi, you are clear."

Rodana watched the F-4 Phantom roar down the runway and take to the air. Spreading her wings, she leapt from the security of her mountainside perch. At first she was plummeting as dead weight. Once she got herself orientated, she swept into a smooth glide down the slope. As soon as she felt an updraft she braced her wings, making a loop toward the open sky.

The aftershock swept across the research base. Cargo cranes swayed. Equipment blew over. Men staggered like cartoon characters. The windows rattled in their panes at the control tower.

"She did it, Kumi!" Sado grabbed her in a hug. He then got on the com. "You camera boys getting this?"

Kumi took the headset. "Hiroshi, you've got a visitor!"

Hiroshi craned his head around. Unbelievably, it was true! He pulled back on the throttle, giving Rodana a chance to catch up. In short order she was over him like an oncoming cloud, eclipsing the sun.

"I copy that," he acknowledged Kumi. "My visitor is flying alongside at my 11 o'clock position. God! She's huge. From where I'm sitting, her wings look like they stretch out toward the horizon."

Rodana just paced herself. Her muscles had atrophied during her convalescence. Besides what did it really matter? She was sliding through the wind's caress and the ground was as far away as a distant memory.

Hiroshi considered buzzing ahead to get her to fly faster, then decided no. She looked too content to be pushed. He waved to her. "Welcome back to the sky, old girl."

Early the next morning, Sado yanked Hiroshi out of bed and brought him stumbling to the bedroom window.

"Come on," Sado said. "Wake up!"

"H-hey!" Hiroshi sputtered. His head was in a fog. "I was sound asleep!"

"Your girlfriend is waiting for you."

"What?"

Sado pulled up the blind. Outside, Rodana was standing beside the F-4.

Hiroshi returned to the air, resuming Rodana's physical therapy. After a lap around the island, Hiroshi got an idea. He tipped his wing to get her attention. She cocked her head. He pointed up with his thumb and pulled back on the stick, flying higher into the air.

So the human wants to play, Rodana thought. She caught up with him and they leveled off at 60,000 feet. Hiroshi pushed his plane at mach one, slicing through the clouds. Rodana overshadowed him once again. He looked up at the massive underbelly. "I see you prefer being on top."

She played his game. Now Rodana wanted him to play hers. She squawked, tipped her beak, and then nosedived.

Hiroshi braced himself and dive bombed after her. The cloudy, blue-green mass of the sea rapidly detailed into waves. High-g stress crushed Hiroshi's body in its grip. He eased off at 1,000 feet. Rodana swooped all the way down to the sea, tearing a wake into the waves.

She flew straight up twisting into a graceful spiral. Hiroshi figured he could do that and chased after her. She waited for him to catch up and together they circled the island. Hiroshi kept glancing her way, and she had her eye on him. He could not deny his feelings. It was as if he had a friend up here in the air.

"All right. Let's have some more fun." Hiroshi repeatedly pointed straight ahead. "Let's see how fast you can go."

The F-4 shot ahead. The human's impudence surprised Rodana. She pursued. The insipid scent of the exhaust thickened as she closed. The chase fatigued her. She panted for air. Her health recovered, but she was out of shape.

The human maintained his lead.

Being alive meant being strong. So Rodana pushed herself, grabbing the air with broader, more forceful strokes, closing the gap. She gasped in a giddy bellow as she overtook the jet fighter. She wanted to get ahead, and she made it.

"Congratulations, girl." Hiroshi noted the speed gauge. "You made mach two."

Then the fuel light lit. Hiroshi sighed. He turned in his seat toward Rodana. "That's it for today. You burned me out."

Hiroshi for the first time in a long time felt great. Before Sado gave him this job he was dejected, resentful, and lonely. He credited his happiness to his incredible flying partner. Rodana made operating a plane seem like playtime. Hiroshi gave Rodana a pilot's thumbs up.

As for Rodana, she was pleased with the human. She had sensed his loneliness back in the cave. She also sensed his passion for flight. When they were together the loneliness was gone and all that remained was the passion.

* * *

><p><strong>A big kaiju scene is coming up in the next chapter. Don't skip it!<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

Part 2

The last week in March was unseasonably warm. The cherry trees were in full blossom. Kumi laid out a picnic for Sado and Hiroshi within the grove.

"I can't believe how intelligent Rodana is," Hiroshi said, recounting his experiences in the air. "She figured out my hand signals. She signals back. Move over chimpanzee and dolphin. The rodans have assumed the top rung of animal intelligence."

Sado lay on the ground, pillowing his head in Kumi's lap. "I must say I am jealous. I loved reptiles and dinosaurs when I was a boy. I especially wanted a pet dinosaur." Sado turned his head in Kumi's soft lap, looking Hiroshi in the eye. "She likes you, you know."

Hiroshi pondered Sado's words.

Kumi felt left out. "Rodana is not the only girl on this island."

Sado looked up at her. "She isn't?"

Kumi slapped the side of his head.

"Ow!" Sado batted her hair.

Kumi opened a small box. She had come to the point where she acknowledged that this was as intimate Sado was ever going to be with her. Hiroshi was more her age, and maybe a better prospect. To be sure, she was going to test their reactions, to see who might care about her more. "Since you two are so infatuated with Rodana, you might appreciate this. I made paper rodans. One for each of you."

Hiroshi intently examined the intricacy in every fold. "Nice work. I'll hang this in my plane. Thank you."

"Origami is her specialty, among other things," Sado quipped.

Kumi pulled back to smack him again.

"I meant that professionally, of course."

"Sado! Sado, come quickly!" Dr. Hirata scrambled down the trail with his white lab coat flailing like a cape. "The eggs!"

Sado, Kumi, and Hiroshi went to the cave and gathered at the ledge with the other researchers. Hirata pointed over the railing to the nest below. "Look, they're hatching!"

Kumi grasped Sado's arm. "We've been watching over them for so long I feel they're our own children."

"I can't stay up here!" Sado said. "I'm going down to the nest. Who's with me?"

"I'll go," Hiroshi said.

Hirata looked to his reluctant peers, and then turned back. "It seems I am the only one."

Sado looped his arm in Kumi's "Lead the way, Hiroshi."

They headed down a narrow stairway for the cave floor below.

The sounds of the eggs cracking echoed throughout the volcanic chamber. Rodana uttered a raspy sigh in contentment as she watched over her brood. She noticed the humans coming down the stairs toward her eggs, drew in a sharp hiss and pierced the stairs with her beak between Hiroshi and the others, forcing him to jump forward and the others to jump back up the steps. Hiroshi gingerly headed back up to rejoin the group.

"No." Sado waved Hiroshi forward. "She's separated us. You can go." Sado gave him a cock-eyed grin. "I told you she likes you."

Hiroshi tentatively took his word for it. When Rodana showed no sign of hostility, he headed for the nest while the others returned to the ledge above. He ran his hand across the sand-papery surface of the twenty-foot-tall eggs. Clear, sticky yolk drained from the cracks, forming pools in the nest. Emotion welled up in Hiroshi. Of all the people present, Rodana trusted him, the newcomer of the group.

Kumi leaned on the railing, jealous of Hiroshi.

One of the eggs split open with a sharp, gooey snap. A moist baby rodan rolled out, blinking its bulbous eyes at the new world.

"Aw!" Kumi sighed.

Rodana considered the human female's feelings. Very well, Rodana thought, she could respect Kumi's maternal instincts. From one female to another, she leaned forward, offering her beak as a lift down. Frightened, Kumi backed away.

"Don't be afraid, Kumi," Sado said. "You've just been admitted to the maternity ward. Here, I'll give you a boost." Sado helped her shimmy up the massive beak.

"I haven't much to hold on-n-n!" Kumi protested.

Rodana balanced Kumi and bent down as close as she could without dropping the human. "I've got you!" Hiroshi held his arms out. Kumi slid from fifteen feet in the air pummeling Hiroshi into the dirt.

"Are you all right!" Sado yelled down.

"Fine!" Kumi called.

"Aw-hh," Hiroshi groaned, "speak for yourself!"

Hiroshi and Kumi got back up and scaled the slope. The fourth hatchling sat in the broken remains of its eggs looking moody.

"Look at this one, Kumi. He sits like a stump."

"Let's call him 'Stumpy'. Oh, and look at this one! She's so regal like her mother. I'll name her Himiko after Queen Himiko of the ancient Yamatai Kingdom."

"How do you know Himiko is a she?" Hiroshi teased. "You may have just given a boy rodan a girl's name."

"A boy wouldn't have the same mannerisms as his mother."

Hiroshi conceded Kumi's point.

Rodana affectionately stroked the scraggly neck of one of her hatchlings with her beak, raising its shaky head. One of its siblings pecked it in the head making it bleat.

"'Loki' shall be your name, you beast," Kumi leaned over to Hiroshi. "Norse god of mischief."

"I've been to school," Hiroshi shot back defensively.

Kumi went to the pecked one. "And you shall be 'Peep'."

"Hold on!" Hiroshi exclaimed. "Let me name at least one of them!"

"Be my guest." Kumi stepped aside.

Hiroshi patted the side of the last egg that hadn't opened. "This one is going to carry the name of our nation's greatest aerial ace of the Second World War, and my personal idol, Hiroyoshi Nishizawa. "Hiro' for short."

The egg split open. Hiroshi's god-child fixed its blinking gaze lustily on him and then snapped at him. Rodana screeched. Hiro reeled his head back, looking at her in surprise. He was only hungry.

Rodana nipped him in the neck as a warning to never try to eat her chosen humans again!

Kumi helped Hiroshi up. "Are you OK?"

"Sh-sure. Just shaken but not stirred."

Rodana wanted to be alone with her children. She gave short bellows at the humans and tapped the railing. Sado understood and called everyone outo f the cave. She sighed at the sound of the latch locking tight. The tiny rodans bobbled out of the nest toward her. She let them nestle at her feet and wrapped her wings around them like a blanket.

#

Later that day, Sado met an important guest at the pier.

"Thank you for coming, Mr. Shigeru." Sado helped the retired coalminer off the floatplane. Shigeru witnessed the birth of Rodan and Rodana in 1956. Shigeru was not harmed. If any one could be a plausible spokesman for the flying reptiles, it would be him. Sado took the retired miner to Rodana's cave. "There she is."

Shigeru and Rodana gazed at each other in shared recognition. It was amazing Rodana still recognized Shigeru despite how much he had aged.

Below, Hiroshi and Kumi were hosing excrement out of the nest. Himiko poked her beak into Kumi's stream for a sip. She pointed her hose up like a fountain. All the baby rodans gathered around her stream, nipping the water with their beaks.

"I still believe what you are doing is dangerous," Shigeru said, staring at the baby rodans clustered around Kumi. "People have died because of the rodans."

"Lives also have been saved," Sado interjected. "Remember when Ghidorah attacked the Earth? If it wasn't for Rodan's help the surface of our world would be dust and we'd be just ashes blowing in the wind."

"My boy, I was old enough to recall the battle first hand. If Mothra hadn't interceded, Rodan would have done nothing."

"All right. How about when Ghidorah attacked a second time? That time it was just Rodan and Godzilla. Mothra was nowhere around to exert her influence." Sado took a breath. "Mr. Shigeru, I brought you here to settle with the past. Not reopen old wounds."

Shigeru smiled at Sado. "I have made peace with the past. In fact, I wish there was a place for the rodans. I really do. But my grandchildren come first. And I fear what will happen to them," he nodded to Rodana, "if hers get loose."

"Our goal is to learn how we can coexist with the rodans. Let me show you our progress."

Sado took Shigeru to Hirata's office. "Shigeru, meet my right hand man, Professor Hirata."

Hirata stood up from his terminal, bowed and shook Shigeru's hand. "Pleased to meet you."

Shigeru returned the same.

Sado positioned himself beside the monitor. "Hirata here is compiling a single document highlighting our work. With it I'll be submitting a detailed plan on where to locate and how to monitor nesting grounds. As long as we can get the rodans used to people when they are young, they shouldn't bother anyone when they mature. Hopefully, after a few generations, we won't even have to do that. Here," Sado quickly organized a group of papers, "take the original copy home with you. We can always print off another."

Shigeru paged through their proposal. "Tell me truthfully. Are you really studying them? Or are you breeding them?"

#

Within three weeks Rodana's hatchlings had grown fifty feet in height. Their first day out of the cave came in late April. Loki, the mischievous one, emerged first, squinting at the sunlight. Rodana followed, nudging the others out.

Hiro tried to impress his mother by flapping around the mouth of the cave. Himiko tried the same thing with only one flap. She squeaked not knowing why her one flap didn't do her any good.

Rodana saw she was missing one. She bellowed back into the cave. Stumpy's echoing peep protested from within. She drew in a hiss and hopped back into the chamber.

Loki immediately pecked his siblings. They scampered around the edge of the cave. Himiko tried getting away with her one-flap hops. Hiro flapped over Loki's head, squeaking in mocking tones that he can't be touched. Loki bent his knees and made an admiral jump, not thinking once of using his wings.

Stumpy's screeches could be heard approaching the mouth of the cave. The four hatchlings quickly settled down as Rodana came out carrying Stumpy by the scruff of the neck. She set her stubborn child down. Stumpy shook his head to take the kink out his neck and perched on the mountain slope, scowling.

Rodana made throaty noises to get their attention. She nibbled Loki's legs. He toppled over, kicking and screeching. The legs were not to be relied on. She spread her wings to show that this was how they should travel. She demonstrated how to use their wings by flapping hers together. Her flapping inadvertently created a gust of wind which blew them over in a sweep of dust. They hobbled back to their feet. She beckoned them to follow her example.

They began batting their wings. Loki went flapping around his mother's head, trying to show off. She guided him down to the group with her beak. Then she pecked Stumpy to start moving.

Rodana let them flap. When she saw that they had their hearts into it, she pecked their feet. They squeaked for her to stop. She nipped harder. They jumped. Before they realized it they were taking to the air! Rodana was pleased. They did not fly far, but they were airborne. Hiro squawked at his mother that he could already do this without the smarting feet.

#

On the grounds of the research facility, Kumi and Sado were hoisting paper wind stockings on the flagpoles in front of the apartments. The stockings were in the form of fish.

"What is this?" Hiroshi asked.

"Don't you know what today is?" Kumi asked.

"Tuesday?"

"Yes. It's also May fifth. Children's Day. We're putting up these wind stockings in honor of Rodana's children."

"Didn't your parents celebrate Children's Day when you were a boy?" Sado asked as he finished the last knot.

"Sure. But they hadn't celebrated Chidren's Day for me in years," Hiroshi said with a grin.

Rodana's brood came thundering down the mountain slope. The dockworkers, researchers, and office staff left their posts to come out and watch. Rodana landed on the runway and beckoned her offspring.

"Look at them," Kumi said. "A mini Rodan revue!"

The rodans trotted past the hangers. Peep bent over the F-4 Phantom, staring in curiosity at the pteranodon image emblazoned across the aircraft. Rodana bellowed at her to come.

The rodan brood gathered around their mother, wondering what she would feed them.

She shook her head sharply that she would not be feeding them.

They anxiously looked at each other. Who was going to feed them?

She grunted that they would be feeding themselves.

Rodana took to the air and flew low over the sea, leaving trail of white foam with her beak as she scooped out a meal for herself. The little rodans watched her, glanced at the wind socks fluttering from the poles, then back at their mother. Faced with the choice between their mother's method of getting food and grabbing faux fish from the poles, they chose the poles.

Sado, Kumi, and Hiroshi got out of the way as the little rodans tore the windsocks apart.

Peeved, Rodana bellowed from across the sea. Her children looked up from their tattered feast, wide-eyed. She beckoned again and they obediently joined her.

Kumi knelt down by the konobori remains. "We should go to the mainland to get fresh ones. Want to come along, Hiroshi?"

"No. Thanks, anyway. Sado, I would like to go up!"

Sado scratched his head, watching the reptile brood flapping awkwardly over the waves. "I don't know. Her kids are pretty clumsy." After seeing the look on Hiroshi's face, he relented.

Hiroshi changed into his flight suit and flew by the rodans in the F-4. Rodana left her kids to play in the water and joined Hiroshi. With the grace of an acrobatic team the F-4 nosed up with Rodana meeting underneath facing belly to belly. They spiraled together. At forty thousand feet, Rodana accelerated straight up further. Hiroshi grappled with his buffeting plane. Rodana called to him and made a broad angle dive for the sea. Hiroshi followed full afterburner. He could not keep up.

Rodana backtracked for the plane, flying barrel rolls around it. Hiroshi could push his aircraft only so far.

This was not working out. Rodana wanted a flying companion, but if it had to be one so slow she would rather be with her young. She veered away and glided nimbly down to her brood.

"That was quick." Sado after Hiroshi landed and climbed out of the plane.

Hiroshi shrugged. "I guess she would rather be with her children."

#

Rodana soaked in the mystical beauty of the full moon and listened to the lullaby of the waves rolling against the shore. It was a night of reflection. She was strong again. Her children were old enough to fend for themselves. It was time to find her beloved.

She looked back into the cave to gaze upon her sleeping brood with affection and pride. All five of them were crowded in the nest with their heads tucked under their wings. Rodana considered herself richly blessed. Not one of them had succumbed to disease or predation.

After she muttered a soft farewell, Rodana took the air and flew south over the Pacific. She reached Infant Island at dawn.

Mothra was engaged in her morning constitutional with the Twin Fairies riding atop her head.

Rodana flew alongside and squawked, asking about her mate.

"Sorry, we have not seen Rodan," the Twin Fairies replied. They were too tiny for Rodana to see, but she sensed their telepathic presence.

Mothra chirped, confirming she hadn't seen Rodan either.

"Keep searching," the Fairies encouraged Rodana, "he may be with Godzilla."

Godzilla, Rodana thought, good idea. She kept an eye out for smoke on the horizon. Where there's smoke, there's fire. Where there's fire, there's Godzilla starting the fire.

She didn't find smoke but she did find Anguirus on a rocky atoll. He roared his mournful-sounding wail. Rodana asked if he had seen either Rodan or Godzilla.

Anguirus shook his spike-crowned head. No one tells me anything anymore, he grunted. He complained in wails and growls how the other monsters didn't hang around him. Must be the spikes on my back, he figured. They're afraid they'll get jabbed. But I've always been careful, he growled. Maybe it's because I'm a quadruped and most of them are bipeds. Yeah, he growled, that must be it! They must look down on me because…he paused to think of a reason…because they have to. I'm down on all fours and they stand upright. See? I'm right. It's because I'm a quadruped.

Rodana felt a headache coming. Maybe your problem has something to do with your conversation, she squawked in suggestion.

Anguirus cocked his head. My conversation? He grunted, are you saying it's my breath?

Rodana took off before she got caught listening to another rant.

Anguirus wailed after her, at least I don't blow radioactive fire out of my mouth like some creatures I know!

Godzilla was relaxing on Solgell Island, watching the tide roll in and listening to the wind rustled the palm trees.

Minilla puttered back and forth trying to grab Godzilla's swaying tail.

Godzilla whipped his tail out of reach and grunted at the youngster that he was too old to be playing.

Minilla sunk his chin to his chest and kicked the sand.

Godzilla slammed his tail, shaking the coconuts out of the trees. He didn't approve of Minilla's pouting.

Rodana flew low over the shore and bellowed, have you seen my mate?

Godzilla roared at Minilla to attack her.

Minilla's eyes bugged at the sight of the giant pteranodon. He shook his head, his whole body back and forth. No! No! She'll kill me.

Godzilla kicked Minilla in the backside and drove him toward Rodana.

Minilla sighed and charged. He stopped at the end of the beach, sized up his opponent and spun around to show off the back plates which were starting to develop.

Rodana cawed in admiration. She was touched at the youngster's growth, even if it wasn't of her species.

Godzilla fumed. He roared at Rodana to attack Minilla.

Rodana hissed back, refusing.

Someone has to teach Minilla to fight, he growled.

Rodana bellowed back a compromise. She would teach Minilla to fight if Godzilla would teach her five offspring to fly.

Godzilla drew in his breath. Five offspring? That means there now seven rodans. He called Minilla to come here. He must take more flame-firing lessons!

Evidently Rodan wasn't on Solgell.

On Farrao Island, Kong stretched out and then banged his chest. He heard a noise which sounded like jet. He scaled part way up one of Farrao's mountains where he spotted Rodana descending from the clouds.

Hmm, he thought to himself, an instinctive rival. He roared at her to approach. When she closed, he threw a boulder at her. When she evaded the massive rock, Kong grabbed another.

Rodana had no time for this. She swung away. To her Kong was nothing more than a hairy Godzilla, a chip off the same thick skull. It was no wonder they beat each other senseless.

At the Hawaiian Islands, she encountered two pairs of F-14 Tomcats pulling up from Pearl Harbor. Rodana was not looking for a fight and the humans could track her back to the nest. She glided along on a northerly course. Bit by bit the fighters fell behind until they turned around for home. She picked up her pace, and then took off in a burst of speed, leaving them far behind.

Rodana was now over open water when a dark object ripped by her. She searched the sky for what almost hit her. What she found made her screech for joy!

Rodan flew toward her. They batted their wings together. He stroked her neck then flew alongside bellowing at her. It had been so long! How was she feeling? She replied he was now a father of five. Rodan swooped around her in a lightning fast loop. He wanted to see them at once!

When the news spread that Rodana had returned with Rodan, Sado and the entire research team emptied out of the office center. Hiroshi came running from his apartment.

Kumi was excited. "Look, Hiroshi! It's Rodan. Don't they look happy together?"

Hiroshi couldn't put his finger on why, but the sight of Rodan with Rodana bothered him. So much so, he turned around and went back inside.

"Hiroshi," Kumi called after him. "What is wrong?

* * *

><p><strong>You won't want to conk out now! All the big action scenes are coming up in the final chapter.<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

12

Part 3

"Regarding air-to-air missiles," said a man inside a darkened room, "the size of the warhead is not as important as a missile's ability to track its target."

Just as he finished his statement, film footage of a missile streaked across a projector screen and slammed into a fighter. Aircraft and missile erupted into a fire ball.

"This is why, back in '56," the man said, "your people failed to shoot Rodan down. Air-to-air missiles have no penetration capability.

"Now, using the data you've provided from Sado's project team, we developed a missile that should be effective against Rodan. What we did was re-engineer the rockets from the ground-based SADAT system, which has a dual anti-armor and anti-air capability, so they can be fired from a combat aircraft."

The stock footage stopped, and an outline of Rodan's body appeared on the screen.

"We recommend you fire the new missiles at Rodan's wings, where the skin is the thinnest. By tearing sufficient holes in the wings, your pilots can force Rodan to the ground, and then bombard his skull with laser-guided bombs. He's not particularly mobile on his legs, so you should have little difficulty striking the target. Even if you don't crack the skull, the repeated concussion will reduce Rodan to a senseless 15,000-ton slab of meat."

A different voice replied in broken English. "How soon missile be ready?"

"How soon?" The military man chuckled. "Our squadrons are already equipped, and we have shipments ready for delivery to your people."

The lights came on, revealing Mogutsu sitting in a conference room with U.S. Air Force officials. He settled back in his seat, most satisfied.

Hiroshi sat on his bed with more shadows brooding in his face than there were in his poorly lit room.

Kumi sat next to him and said, "What did you think you had going with this pteranodon?"

His eyes closed. Kumi made it all sound so silly. He then laughed, with a sour hint of resentment. She was right. He had let himself become too attached to the giant reptile. "I had this dream the other night. I was on a," he made a lopsided grin as his cheeks colored from embarrassment, "on this date with Rodana. It wasn't like she was huge. She was like us, yet still like a pteranodon at the same time. We went to this restaurant..."

"That's the point," Kumi said. "She is not like us." She sighed. "Life sometimes gives us moments we wish would last forever. But like anything else they come to an end to make way for something new." Kumi slid her arm around him. "You and Rodana had a wonderful time. But she is well now and wants to be with her own kind."

"I suppose," Hiroshi conceded. "Rodana probably does not even know who I am anymore."

"I am sure she remembers you. It's that she could never feel for you like another person could." Kumi nestled closer, and looked into his eyes.

Hiroshi shot her a cynical look. "I almost got married when I was in the air force. But my fiancée broke it off because she got sick of waiting for me to come off duty. And I was almost done with the service!"

"Ah, I understand the logic now. And I think you're right. I can't get anywhere with Sado. Maybe I should see what Godzilla is doing on his weekends." She giggled.

"Kumi!"

"It's just a joke." She nudged his knee with hers. "You get the point don't you? You can't give up on everyone. You will miss out on meeting new friends. Real ones." Kumi nuzzled his ear with a whisper. "One's who will never leave you." She gently laid her fingers across his chin and turned his attention to her.

The phone rang. Kumi sat back. Hiroshi grabbed the phone. It was Sado.

"Is Kumi with you?" Sado asked. "Both of you get down to the pier! Now!"

Before Hiroshi could get an explanation Sado hung up.

Outside, helicopters were flying over the building, rattling the room with reverberations. They could hear the doors being broken into downstairs. Hiroshi locked the door. Boot steps ran amok in the corridors. Kumi switched off the light and looked out the window.

"Hiroshi," she hissed. "Soldiers have Professor Hirata and his staff lined up outside the office center with their hands up! The soldiers aren't wearing Japanese uniforms!"

"We don't dare go out in the hall. We'll climb out the side window."

Hiroshi removed the screen and then squeezed through.

"Careful, Hiroshi!"

Hiroshi clung by his fingertips bracing himself. Then, taking a breath, he dropped... right into a tangle of bushes. He lay, waiting for a reaction. None came.

He disentangled from the bushes. "Come on, Kumi, I'll catch you!"

She lowered herself. Hiroshi held his hands up and caught her as she dropped.

A soldier hollered at them from the corner of the building. They scrambled for the grove. A shot went off, and the bullet snapped the tree branches as it whizzed by their heads.

"Not the trail!" Hiroshi grabbed Kumi's arm. "Through the trees! We don't want to give them a clear shot."

Silhouettes and flashlights gathered in the grove. Voices were yelling at them in English. Hiroshi and Kumi pushed their way through the underbrush, descending the slope toward the pier. Another shot went off. The round smacked through the trees overhead. They dropped into the bushes for cover.

The soldiers closed in. Kumi looked to Hiroshi for the next plan. He looked back and shrugged. He didn't have a clue. Kumi swallowed hard, and then stood with her hands up.

Flashlights zeroed in on her as she approached the soldiers. They grabbed her and padded her down, asking a single question over and over, but she did not understand English well. Even if she did, she would never answer.

Hiroshi felt a pang in his heart when the soldiers yanked her by the arm. One trooper scanned the grove once more with his flashlight then joined the others heading up the slope.

Hiroshi got back up and went to the pier.

The soldiers were U.S. Marines. One squad opened the heavy door to Rodana's nest with confiscated keys. When they stepped onto the landing overlooking her nest, Rodana savagely screeched. She stabbed at them with her beak. They tumbled back into the cave corridor, slamming the door tight. One of privates exclaimed, "The Rodans are in there all right, Sergeant!"

Another squad of Marines pushed Sado back into his office. They systematically went through the cabinets and accessed his computer terminal. One unlocked his desk and pulled out his proposal.

An interpreter entered followed by General Hodge, who was operating under the banner of the United Nations. A Marine handed the proposal to him. He flipped through a few pages then nodded to the interpreter.

The interpreter spoke. "You and your staff are charged with violation of security of mankind as ratified in the UN code of law. You and your staff are under arrest and will be expected to cooperate fully."

On TV, anchorwoman Tomoko Mahiko reported the latest developments before the Diet Building in Tokyo. "Five months ago the Defense Agency dispatched a research team to study an ailing giant pteranodon, known as a rodan, discovered on an uninhabited island 100 kilometers off the Honshu coast."

Shigeru's wife, Kyo, whistled to her yellow songbird. She reached into its cage and poured some feed into its bowl.

"Now sources say," the news broadcast continued, "the team had gone one step further in breeding more rodans. With us is Mr. Mogutsu of the Defense Agency to explain."

"That's what I said!" Shigeru exclaimed from the sofa.

"Then it must be true." Kyo sat beside him.

"You don't understand..." He listened to the news some more.

Mogutsu stepped into view on TV. "Our standing in the world community is threatened," he said. "But we are taking responsibility for this tragic oversight. Responsible parties are under arrest. Let me assure everyone that our intention has always been and always will be to effectively destroy the rodans."

Shigeru turned to his wife. "I was concerned Sado's passion was clouding his judgment. So I tried to get a reaction out of him. Now that very same line just so happens to come from the mouth of this bureaucrat. He is using my words to destroy Sado."

"How did Mogutsu know what you said to Sado?" Kyo asked,

"I don't know." The old miner shook his head. Someone from Sado's staff must have overheard me, and told Mogutsu. I'm sure Sado doesn't intend to overrun the world with monsters."

"Can you prove it?"

"I must. Kyo, remember your brother Goro. He died in the mines before his name was cleared of murder. We can never turn our backs on an innocent man."

Rodana assured Rodan the humans gathered at the base of the mountain were friendly. They fed her and the young. Kept the nest clean. They even coaxed her back into the air.

Even so, Rodan thought. These humans might be docile, but if they knew where the nest was, others of their species would, too.

Rodan didn't argue with his mate. He clucked in acquiescence and waited until she and their brood were asleep. The humans would attack soon. He was sure of it. So he would have to strike first.

That night he took to the air and headed for the Japanese mainland.

Back at his office in Tokyo, Mogutsu paged through Sado's proposal. "Something like this could really take the fire out of our crusade."

"So we can't use it against him?" Ichi asked, disappointed. He felt he had gone through a lot of trouble to help get this documentation into Mogutsu's hands.

"Of course we can," Mogutsu said. "It's proof. We have it and the Americans can back that we got it. It doesn't matter what it says. We can rewrite it. That is why I love politics. It's easy and fun. You have done well, Ichi. Consider yourself a part of my UN team."

Ichi broke out in a salivating grin and bowed. "Thank you!"

"Now your first assignment is to accompany General Hodge as my liaison. Make certain my orders are carried out while I assure the U.S. military the files they collected from Sado's office are now irrelevant and can clear their records. Sado's memory must be that of a madman." Mogutsu closed the proposal. "And as for this," he handed Sado's proposal to Ichi, "burn it."

The United States Air Force deployed three hundred aircraft to Sado's Island. One hundred fifty F-15 Eagles armed with the new air-to-air SADAT missile flew in the forward echelons. Ninety F-111 Aardvark bombers and their fighter escorts brought up the rear five miles back.

At an American airbase on the Honshu coast, UN General Hodge sipped coffee in the air traffic control tower. The radar operators were announcing the progress of the planes as they closed in on Sado's Island. "Mr. Shinichi," Hodge said, "your boss, Mogutsu, is wise to call on us for help. We'll show your monster Rodan what happens when the United States goes to war. When this is over, your boss will be a hero."

Ichi, who was now Mogutsu's new aid, smiled.

From the deck of a United States cruiser, Kumi gazed at the island. She and the rest of the staff had no word on when they would be released. She ran her finger under her eye to staunch the tears. Like an approaching storm, the roar of the jets gathered on the horizon.

Within the cave, the baby rodans screeched in agitation, fluttering from perch to perch in the massive rock chamber. They recognized the sound of the jets as a threat. Rodana narrowed her eyes. First the humans pampered her, now they will try to destroy her and her brood.

At the U.S. air base a radar operator said: "Sir, we have an unidentified object approaching from the southwest. It's not on any civilian route. Range: one hundred kilometers."

General Hodge set his coffee down. "It's Rodan. Recall the strike team to intercept."

"No!" Ichi turned to the General. "Destroy the nest first!"

"The mother rodan and her babies are probably not there anymore. They probably slipped into the sea at night."

"Range, ninety kilometers," the radar operator said, raising his voice. "The unidentified object is increasing speed."

Ichi laughed. "The rodans fly! They don't swim!"

"It's the only way they could slip past our radar." The general turned toward the communications officer. "Recall the fighters!"

Ichi rushed over to the com officer. "No! Everything on the island must be destroyed! Everything!"

"Unidentified object is now sixty kilometers." Sweat trickled down the radar operator's face. "Twenty kilometers!"

Hodge pulled Ichi away. "This may be a joint operation, but those planes still answer to me." The general shouted over Ichi's protests. "Recall the fighters!"

Then the windowpanes vibrated as a low rumble gathered outside. A cloud of dust rolled over the countryside from the southwest. The communications officer sent the recall, and then the radar operator closed his eyes and said: "One kilometer."

In the next breath, Rodan soared over the air base. The aftershock from his high-speed, low-flying pass exploded the glass in the buildings. The shards tore Hodge, Ichi, everyone to pieces. The hangars flew apart and parked aircraft tumbled across the tarmac. Rodan left behind a dark brown cloud of dust covering the entire airfield as he pulled up into the sky. His plan was to cause a stir so the humans would come after him.

Mogutsu knotted his face in frustration when he heard the news. The acting UN General was gone. Ichi, gone. A whole United States Air Force base had been blown to the four winds. "Replace Hodge with one of our Self Defense officers," he told his staffer. "And if the planes are diverted from striking Sado's research facility, send someone ashore and scour every office for any scrap of paper the Americans may have missed."

The staffer carried out his orders.

Screaming through the air at sonic speeds, Rodan flew a determined course along the Honshu coast. He had started at Wakayama, heading north, flying over Nagoya, Yokohama, and was now on his way to Sendai, which was a city about 200 miles north of Tokyo. Wherever he sensed radar waves pinging off his body, he swooped down and snapped the dish just as though he were snapping fish out of the sea.

General Hodge's replacement, Air Force General Mitsuyoshi Sasaki, joined his staff in the bunkered situation room in Tokyo. Mogutsu was also present watching like a nervous hen. Then the Prime Minister joined them. Mogutsu smiled and bowed to the Prime Minister. The PM didn't return the smile. In fact, he didn't look happy.

"Rodan has obviously conditioned himself to be sensitive to our radar emissions," General Sasaki spoke to everyone present. "He is clearing a zone in which he can move undetected. We have used radar and aircraft in conjunction for so long that when he encounters one, he expects the other to be near.

"So, we will deal with him before we destroy the nest. I want the American strike force to change course from Sado's Island and refuel at their base in Iwate. Inform the American base commander to be ready to receive them. Scramble Second Squadron to delay Rodan long enough for the Americans to refuel their planes."

"General," one of his subordinates said, "Third and Fifth squadrons are equipped with the new air-to-air SADATs."

"I know." Sasaki leaned over the situation map and placed the markers for those two squadrons at Sado's Island. "Have them waiting with our AWACs here. When Rodan returns to the nest, I want Third and Fifth Squadrons waiting for him."

On his way north, Rodan spotted the glint of the sun's reflection off the metal skins of the F-15s of Second Squadron. They were flying in to engage him. He had no time to waste with such a small group. He dismissively screeched at them and then accelerated for altitude in a burst of speed.

"General Sasaki, Rodan ascended straight up seventy thousand feet. He flew over our planes! He's heading north toward the next air base, which would be the one in Iwate."

Sasaki thumped his fist on the map table. "Refuel the American strike force in the air." The General's countenance darkened. "Advise Iwate base to evacuate."

Sirens whined at Iwate Air Force Base as the crews ran across the tarmac for cover. Anti-aircraft missiles launched into the air. Rodan made a sharp twist, creating enough turbulence to send the missiles flying wild.

He landed among the buildings with the runways stretched out before him. He fanned his wings toward a collection C-5 Galaxy transport planes. The massive aircraft skidded sideways, flipping over on top of each other. Turning, Rodan fanned the open tarmac, sending loading vehicles skipping across the pavement and crashing through hangar walls. Air currents flowed like a roaring flood. Wreckage spread across the runways. Power lines snapped apart, sparking off fires. Rodan tore into the fuel dump with his clawed feet, ripping open the fuel tanks. He fanned the fuel across the tarmac, spraying the buildings, and then tipped a burning control tower onto the flammable liquid. Flames erupted. The consuming tongues of light engulfed the entire airbase.

Satisfied, Rodan took to the air leaving behind a churning column of black smoke. The guns and siren were silent and in their place was the crackling of the fires and explosions going off in the fuel dump. The humans had now lost their last place to care for their machines.

Back at the bunker in Tokyo, one of the staffers came up to the Prime Minister, speaking confidentially into his ear, and then showed him a thick folder.

Mogutsu watched them intently. The Prime Minister flipped through familiar looking pages. It appeared to be a copy of Sado's proposal.

"I want to see them immediately," the Prime Miniser said.

Mogutsu didn't hear who "they" were. He glanced again, and the Prime Minister was glancing back at him, giving him a brutal look.

Rodan turned south and let up on his pace. Rodana and the young were safe. The past day had been so crazy he had not the chance to play with his children. Oh, and Godzilla! He could not wait to parade them past him! Godzilla would be stomping furious. The fun part was that Godzilla would still challenge them all at once! Rodan searched for the large flock of aircraft. They would be close to exhaustion by now.

A radar pulse tingled in his scales. He was surprised the humans had any radar left in the area. Furthermore it was emitting from the air. He spotted a flying machine way off in the distance. If he was going to get a jump on those planes he was not going to risk letting them know where he was.

In the bunker one of Sasaki's aids announced: "Rodan is closing in on our AWAC!"

Sasaki smiled.

In the AWAC plane, the copilot tapped the pilot and pointed to the clouds. Rodan soared into view heading toward them. The sheer force of his presence blew the clouds away like smoke. The pilots gasped, certain this would be their final mission.

Sasaki's crack Third and Fifth squadrons ambushed Rodan from behind, launching their SADAT missiles. Rodana heard them, but ignored them. Rockets never harmed him before. Then SADATs struck.

He bellowed in shock and pain. The missiles had actually pierced his skin. For the first time the humans wounded him!

A second volley streaked in.

Wiser, Rodan veered away only to be confronted by a third volley of warheads. He nose-dived at mach five straight for the ground then soared nap of the earth. His wake ripped trees from their roots and blew houses off their foundations.

Again, more SADAT missiles flew in to intercept. Three of them pierced him like hot needles and a fourth sliced like a knife across his face.

Rodan bellowed in rage and pursued the closest fighter—any fighter. Above, below, everywhere, F-15's darted around him like flies. The Japanese Third and Fifth Squadrons dispersed their numbers so when he attacked one the others attacked him.

He dived again. Humans had tougher time with low-level flight. He should be able to out distance them and escape their formation. The Japanese fighters closed ranks and launched. The smoke trails hissed in low and swift. Rodan braced himself, unable to drop any lower without impacting the ground. The missiles tore like crimson claws. Rodan could feel the wind whistling through his wings. He was losing altitude. He pounded his wings, gaining little momentum. The roar of the aircraft closed in behind him. They were catching up!

Back at the island, to add insult to injury the American's returned Sado's staff to the island and ordered them under gun point to destroy all record of their work. Kumi opened her case containing the remains of the paper carp. She ran her fingers through them remembering how the baby rodans mistook them for real fish. Why does everything have to be burned, she asked herself silently.

"Kumi."

She looked toward the whispered voice.

"Hiroshi!"

"Shh!" Hiroshi stepped into her office grinning, looking a little wild-eyed.

"What are you doing here? Mogutsu and the UN declared you a fugitive!"

Hiroshi took a hold of Kumi. "Listen. They almost got Rodan down to where they can bomb him. You got to help me get the plane prepped."

"Hiroshi, you could get yourself shot down!"

"Kumi, remember what Sado said if we didn't make some sort of breech with them?"

"It's too late now. Whatever domesticating we accomplished is ruined. I'm sure Rodana and her babies have gone wild again."

"Come on, you said yourself she would not forget me!"

Kumi searched Hiroshi's eyes for the truth. "It's her you're trying to save. Isn't it? You're doing this for Rodana."

Hiroshi pulled away, checking security from the window. "Will you help me?"

Kumi ran her hand through the konobori again. "Yes."

The marine at the F-4 turned around to a fist in the face. He staggered for his balance trying to unsling his M-16 from his shoulder. Hiroshi hammered him across the back of the skull with a wrench. The marine was out. Kumi checked his pulse.

"Alive?" Hiroshi asked.

"Yes."

"Good." Hiroshi instructed her on how to fuel the plane while he got into his flight gear. Kumi pushed the hangar door open as he climbed into the cockpit.

"Hiroshi," Kumi climbed up the ladder to the cockpit, "I feel terrible letting you go. I guess I want the baby rodans to live as much as you want to save Rodana."

"It was my idea. Look you have the raw end. You're going to have to live with what I talked you into."

Kumi embraced him, holding him tight. "Just come back in one piece!"

Hiroshi spoke quietly in her ear. "Good-bye, Kumi." His tone was final.

The F-4 rocketed to life. Kumi pulled the marine clear. Security ran across the tarmac to the hanger. The UN officer in charge stepped up to the window in the tower. "What is going on?" In answer the Phantom taxied to the runway with the marines scampering alongside. One of them got on the walkie talkie.

"Sir, the men want to know what they should do."

"Try to raise the pilot. Find out who he is and talk him down." The officer snapped his fingers for the interpreter to take the head set.

Hiroshi switched off communications. He pulled back the throttle and accelerated to the sky. His last flight in the first plane he fell in love with. It would be like dying in his mother's arms. The odds of surviving against armed fighters was nil. Which was fine, because he did not care to be around people anymore. Giving the rodans a chance was all that mattered to him.

Rodan reached the Kitakami Mountains, flapping blood. Out of missiles, the Japanese F-15's dogged him with their cannons. Now they were close and in tight formation. Rodan twisted around and bashed into them. The fighters tried to evade, making turns their air frames could not handle. Planes tumbled across his back and belly. Metal crumbled like paper. Rodan reduced Third and Fifth squadrons to the size of one.

He circled around and returned to the mountains. Behind him the airplane debris fell like mists of smoky rain.

In Tokyo, the Prime Minister kept shuffling through the photos in Sado's proposal. The old miner and his wife were gone. Their names were already forgotten. He just stood at his desk shuffling the photos. A man and woman posing with a dour looking baby rodan. The next shot: A jet flying beside the mother. If Sado's team befriened these creatures, why were good men dying now?

The Japanese SDF fighters regrouped and withdrew. Rodan sighed in relief. Then his brow furrowed.

The sky dotted with black objects and the air reverberated with the thunderous combustion of engines. The US aircraft under the UN flag were refueled and approaching in full force. SADAT missiles plumed ignition smoke from under the fighter wings, and then trailed toward him.

Rodan waited between the peaks. The SADATs closed. He watched them till he could see their canards. Then with a half hop and a weak flap he dropped behind the mountains. The missiles shattered against the opposite slopes. The planes roared over the mountain peeks, being to close to change course. Rodan flung himself up into their path. Five hundred feet tip to tip, Rodan clapped his wings, smashing scores of fighters. Explosions rippled like thunder, echoing into the valleys below. A black cloud hung over the mountains, visible to witnesses as far away as the villages on the coast.

Rodan dropped to his back skidding down the side. He coughed from the dust stirred up around his face. Rodan forced himself to his feet and pecked the metal fragments out of his shredded wings. He kept an eye on the regrouping straggles. The fighters kept their distance. Just the same he could not repeat that maneuver again. When he thought of Rodana and his offspring, the sacrifice was worth it.

But that was only the first half of the American force.

Laser guided bombs rained from the sky and pounded Rodan like iron fists. His vision blurred. He screeched in pain only to be out-shouted by the whistle of another falling bomb.

The first wave of F-111 bombers dispensed its ordnance. The next wave followed.

Rodan shielded his head with a tattered wing, but the holes allowed the bombs to hammer his skull. Blow after blow, the bombs kept coming. Blood flowed into his eyes. He could taste it in his mouth. A perpetual ring numbed his hearing. His sense of balance wavered.

The aircraft let up. They circled the range in scattered packs letting the smoke dissipate enough to get a fix with their Pave Tack sensors. Three bombers and two escorts leveled in.

Lieutenant Williamson flew the lead bomber. "This could be the one that downs him!"

"We'll make certain they spell your name right in the history books!" Hatcher, his escort chimed.

Williamson spotted a single speck gradually coming into view. He glanced to his copilot. "Who's this? Someone ID him."

The speck glimmered in the sun as it altered course right for them. "What the... Incoming! Incoming!" The bombers scattered as an unarmed F-4 Phantom soared through their ranks. It was Hiroshi!

The Prime Minister returned to the situation room in the bunker. Mogutsu smiled, trying to pry a positive reaction. The Prime Minister shot Mogutsu a look that made the corners of his mouth drop.

"General," Sasaki's subordinate said, "UN forces report they are under attack by an unarmed aircraft painted up to look like a pteranodon. Sir, I think... "

"It is," Sasaki stated. "It's Hiroshi. Can we raise him yet?"

"No."

"We can't risk letting Rodan escape." General Sasaki paused with the words turning bitter in his mouth. "Shoot him down."

Two F-15s closed in on Hiroshi. He kept twisting around to prevent lock on. Another F-15 swung in and launched an AIM-7 Sparrow missile.

Without ECM there was no way to shake the missile. Hiroshi banked towards their bombers. The extra heat sources could confuse it. He glanced back. It was already too late.

His F-4 violently shook from the missile's blast. But it was not breaking apart! It was shaking from mere concussion. Rodana swung into view, trailing smoke from her beak. She had snatched the missile out of the air.

"Yes!" Hiroshi was almost ready to cry. "You haven't forgotten me!"

Loki and Himiko pounced the first bomber group they came across. Hiro smashed Williamson's plane; then pursued the other planes in his squadron with the wreckage spilling out his mouth. Peep followed her mother. Stumpy landed by his bleeding father and chirped that they have arrived then perched beside him on the mountain slope.

Rodana called Stumpy back into battle. She and Himiko flew wing tip to wing tip headlong at full speed into the bombers. The planes scattered, becoming easy pickings for the other little ones.

Peep bit into one bomber. Its ordnance popped off around her, scaring her. She fled to her father.

Loki nipped at one plane just as another flew by in the opposite direction. He reversed course. The first slipped away. He tried to get it, letting the second escape.

Hiro herded one pilot right into another. Both pilots ejected from their planes only to be chewed up by Loki.

Stumpy took a pelting from one F-15. The pilot used up his Sparrow missiles and switched to Sidewinders. Stumpy finally got fed up and spun on him. The shocked pilot suddenly found himself and his entire cockpit chomped in Stumpy's beak.

The news of the battle poured into the situation room, all of it bad.

"We have done all that we could, General," the prime minister said. "Pull them out." He headed for the door, passing Mogutsu. "Meet me in my office." The Prime Minister did not even look at him as he passed.

Mogutsu stood alone while everyone else busied at trying to get the planes home. He closed his palms to fists. The sweat in his palms could just as well be blood of the pilots. That was how it was going to look before an investigation committee.

Williamson's escort pilot, Hatcher, heard the order and ignored it. He flew into Hiroshi's blind spot. "Since you see fit to side with the enemy..." He shredded Hiroshi's plane with his auto cannon.

The F-4 shuttered from the hits. Hiroshi tried leveling the F-4 from listing to one side. A second cannon burst went through the fuel and shattered a wing. His hand dropped on the ejection release lever. He shot out of the plane as it exploded into black smoking debris.

Loki spotted his chute opening. He snagged Hiroshi out of the air. The chute drifted behind him, wafting on the breeze like a feather.

Shigeru pulled the car along the shoulder of the road. He and Kyo exited. A downed American fighter smoldered in a nearby rice field. They watched Rodan's brood gather around him. Rodana gripped his shoulders with her feet. Hiro and Himiko each grabbed a wing. They lifted off with Stumpy bringing up the rear. Momentarily the sun was blotted out over Shigeru and Kyo as they passed overhead.

"What do you think will happen to the rodans, Shigeru?"

"They will find a new home. Their young will grow and be strong."

"What about us? Will we be able to co-exist with them?"

"I don't know, Kyo. Let's not assume the worst."

When it was all over Sado went into custody. Kumi visited him. "I was really looking forward to going before the UN World Court," Sado said. "It has been awhile since I've done any traveling."

"Sado versus the rest of the world," Kumi mused.

"I suppose the United Nations dropped their charges after seeing all those pilots killed. Mogutsu's crusade was turning into an embarrassment."

"No, that was not it."

Sado raised his brows in interest.

"It was Shigeru. He and Kyo showed the copies of your work you gave them to the Prime Minister. I met Shigeru just the other day. He told me all about it."

Sado plopped back into his chair exasperated. "Well, you just never know who your real friends are. What about Hiroshi? Have you heard anything about him?"

Kumi shook her head silently. "According to the press, after Hiroshi bailed from his plane one of Rodan's young regarded him as food, just like a bird spotting an insect, and ate him."

Sado snorted. "If you believe that then you learned nothing."

"I don't. I really don't know what happened to him."

They sat quiet in their thoughts. Sado and Kumi sensed their thoughts were going in separate directions. His was on defending the project. Hers was on Hiroshi. They looked at each other realizing they had nothing left to keep them together. "Find him," Sado told her. He leaned forward on the table. "Find him and bring him back. Prove them wrong, Kumi."

Kumi nodded. She understood. The tone of his voice told her she had his blessing. If she wanted to be with Hiroshi, she should.

The guard looked at his watch. "Visiting time is over." Even though the UN dropped its charges, the Japanese government, in a show of taking responsibility, expected Sado to appear before a hearing.

Kumi stood up from the table. "Good-bye, Sado."

"Be seeing you. Save copies of the newspapers. I always wanted to see my name in the headlines. And tape the news. I always wanted to do television, too." He gave her a thumbs up before being led through the door.

With a sad smile Kumi gave him a soft wave. The door shut.

The street was streaming with traffic. Kumi stood outside the building being jostled about by the people bustling up and down the sidewalk. There was no where to really to turn, or go. So she picked a direction and headed up the river of people. No matter what she knew her heart would lead her right to Hiroshi.

Stumpy perched on the ledge of the cave of their new island home. Hiroshi, unshaven and with no shirt, joined him on the ledge. Being carried in Loki's mouth did not help is sanity any, nevertheless he considered himself happy. Stumpy was nearly a hundred feet tall making Hiroshi look like a mite. The sun was warm and bright. The sea was just another shade of blue under the clear sky. Hiroshi loved it. He slapped Stumpy on the ankle. "No one can touch us out here, Stump!"

Kumi.

Just when he thought he left the rest of the world behind him she came to mind. His feelings were mixed. Yet he did eject from his plane rather than going down with it. Were the two thoughts connected? Was she a reason why he chose to live? Could he admit how he really felt about her? Hiroshi did not feel like sorting it out right now. He only wondered if he would see her again.

The rest of the rodans soared around the mountain chasing each other, screeching all kinds of noise.

Rodan looked up at them flying overhead. He was very proud of them. He looked at Rodana thinking they should have some more.

Rodana scowled at him remembering how rough the last pregnancy was. She shook her head and clucked. Five offspring were good enough.

The End


End file.
